Jammu, Aug: The J&K Government has not announced observance of ‘State mourning’, following the demise of former Governor Satya Pal Malik, who passed away on August 5, 2025.
Malik remained Governor of J&K state from August 2018 till October 2019 – the most crucial period which saw abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A.
He was the last Governor of J&K as, post August 5, 2019, the State was truncated and downgraded to a Union Territory, administered by a Lieutenant Governor.
Besides J&K, Malik also served as Governor of Bihar from October 2017 to August 2018. During this period, he served as Governor of Odisha too, which was an additional charge, from March 2018 to May 2018. Later, he was made Governor of Goa in 2019 and Governor of Meghalaya (2020-2022). Besides holding the position of the Governor, he also remained a member of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
As per the “instructions regarding action to be taken on the death of high dignitaries” of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued to various States and Union Territories, it is not mandatory to observe ‘State mourning’ in case of the death of an ex-Governor or ex-Administrator.
Section II (of the related Chapter) concerning “State mourning” mentions that it (State mourning) will be observed throughout India in the event of the death of the President, Prime Minister or the former President.
“It will be observed within the State concerned in the event of the death of a Governor and at the discretion of the State Government, in the event of the death of a Chief Minister of the State Government concerned,” sub-section 2.2 of Section II explains.
Further elaborating, sub-section 2.3 says, “Ordinarily, there will be no State mourning in the event of the death of any other dignitary, but in individual cases, the Central Government may issue special instructions.”
Curiously, the J&K Union Territory administration had announced three-day ‘State mourning’ as a mark of respect to another former Governor, Jagmohan, who passed away on May 3, 2021.
J&K General Administration Department (GAD) on May 4, 2021, while announcing the decision of the government and spelling out protocol, notified observance of “three days State mourning from May 4 to 6, 2025.”
“If State mourning was announced following the demise of former Governor Jagmohan, then it (State mourning) should have been there in case of ex-Governor Malik as well. Whether a case was pending against him (Malik) or not – that is beside the point. That cannot be a reason because there is no conviction. Anyway, this call (to declare State mourning) was to be taken by the J&K Government. Following the precedent (of ex-Governor Jagmohan), now it’s to be decided by the Chief Minister as he is heading the General Administration Department (in-charge minister),” explained J&K Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi, when contacted by Greater Kashmir on this account.
GAD Commissioner Secretary and J&K Law Secretary, however, remained inaccessible despite repeated attempts.
